Deep freeze closes some Oakland County schools on Tuesday

Workers move snow at the corner of East and Third streets in Rochester to get ready for the Fire & Ice Festival. The workers were forced to stop making snow due the extreme cold froze the water lines. The festival is starts Friday January 25 from 6 pm to 9 pm, closing Sunday at 5 pm. Activities include ice skating, tube sledding, dog sled rides. snow shoeing and cross country skiing, fireworks and much more. Tuesday, January 22, 2013. The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON

Frigid temperatures closed some Oakland County school districts Tuesday, but others remained open -- in some instances leaving children out at bus stops in sub-zero temperatures.

Rochester Community Schools remained open, with the exception of Reuther Middle School, which was closed because it had no power. District spokeswoman Debra Hartman said the power to that middle school was restored Tuesday afternoon.

Some of the district's school buses ran 20 to 30 minutes late, which could have left schoolchildren out in dangerously cold temperatures for an extended period of time. Parents were warned with automated phone messages.

"We have a process ... in our district, it is due to the roads," Hartman said. "If we have a lot of snow, we have a conversation about it. ... We have a threshold of 25 degrees below zero" for closing schools.

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The district experienced delays in some buses because the cold makes diesel fuel gel-like, making the buses hard to start.

"We made that call at 6:30 this morning and we notified parents that there was a 20-minute delay ... so they adjusted accordingly," Hartman said. "We sent out a letter to parents today ... there were some circumstances that were beyond our control, but we want to fix those things that could maybe go smoother."

Clarkston Community Schools made the decision to stay open, but Superintendent Rod Rock says he understands if parents were concerned about sending their children to the bus stop.

"We had our transportation person that got up (early) with some of his crews and started the buses and drove the roads," Rock said. "It was minus-18 and we made the decision (to stay open) early."

Rock said they looked at what the other districts were doing, and all of the buses started.

"I know people are concerned about their kids out at the bus stop and they can decide to keep their child home or drive their kid to school," Rock said. "We try to make the decision for 8,000 kids."

Holly Area Schools Superintendent Kent Barnes made the decision to close his district because of the excessive wind chill -- but it was only the second time he has closed the district for that reason in nearly 14 years.

"We have students that walk over a mile to get to a bus stop," Barnes said. "While I realize we are in Michigan, and students should be used to cold weather, today's wind chill was simply excessive, in my estimation."

Barnes said there is no state standard for canceling school for wind chill and he cannot speak on why other districts decided to remain open.

A power outage kept at least one school closed in Rochester Hills, but some residents also experienced loss of power.

Outages affected 120,000 DTE Energy customers overnight Saturday due to high winds, but most had been restored by Tuesday, said DTE Energy spokesman Scott Simons.

Bill Murray of Rochester Hills said his power did not go out on Saturday, but did on Monday evening just as he was going to sleep for the night. His power was restored Tuesday afternoon after he made several complaints to DTE.

"Well, it went out a little after 11 last night -- it flickered on and off a few times. Then I sent a report out to DTE and they're saying 9, not tonight, but tomorrow night," Murray said.

Murray lives near Auburn and Dequindre roads, which is near Reuther Middle School. Murray said his house was very cold when he woke up Tuesday morning. He, his wife, Stephanie, and his dogs were struggling to stay warm.

Murray said he was unsure what caused his outage.

"It's dead silence when the power's out. (Monday night) it was cold and silent out," Murray said. "I'm not really sure what caused the power outage."

Murray said DTE Energy officials told him there were about 1,000 customers without power in the area.

Murray's father, Bill Murray Sr., said he made comments on the DTE Energy Facebook page criticizing the company for not working to restore power earlier. He said the company removed the posts, which did not use profanity, from the page.

"(They) have told him (his son) that it is not their responsibility. One would think that maintaining their equipment is their responsibility," Murray Sr. said.

The weather is expected to warm up beginning today and temperatures are expected to continue rise through the weekend, but likely will stay below freezing.

In case of additional power outages, the Centers for Disease Control recommends having the following items in your home: an alternative way to heat your home, including dry firewood for a fireplace, or wood stoves. You should also have furnace fuel, blankets, matches, first-aid kit, multipurpose, dry chemical fire extinguisher; nonelectric can opener, extra batteries, flashlight, and a battery-powered radio.

Food that requires no cooking or refrigeration, such as bread, crackers, cereal, canned foods and dried fruit should be kept in supply.

In the case of pipes freezing or rupturing, water should be stored or purchased -- at least five gallons per person.

Water taps should be kept dripping continuously in the case of a power outage so they do not freeze.

Medications that a family member may need should also be kept on hand.

If going outside, the CDC says to stay dry and dress warmly in loose-fitting clothes.

Wear a hat, scarf and mittens and if you are outside for any length of time, and pay close attention to avoid frostbite.